Printing device.



DE VERN C. HUFFMAN.

PRINTING DEVICE.

/Nl/ENTOR PM Patented Apr. 9, 1918. 2 SHEETSSHEET l r w x +2 a i 2 W E f m & w a H N u m G M WU Q U C V A 0 m j J 1s m m D M m NM NM] H 7- w 0 N A d d 1 Mi HM 2 W A 2 I 4. 0 5 @W I 9 m L 1 m 9 T 2 I 6 2, mv

A TTORNEYS IJE VERN C. HUFFMAN.

PRINTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I2. 19H. 1,262,195. Patented Apr. 9,1918;

2 SHEETSSHEEI' 2.

I flcf I ATTORNEYS lllllfllrlfl z GENERAL MERLManovs Foamy v JOHN X Dove/4k Co.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DE VERN CLAYTON HUFFIVIAN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

PRINTENG DEVICE.

Application filed April 12, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DE VERN C. Horr- MAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of St. Louis, in the State of l flissouri, have invented new and useful improvements in Printing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

.My invention is an improvement in sales slips, and has for its object to provide mechanism of the character specified adapted for the use of merchants, shop keepers, marketmen and the like, wherein means is provided for entering the various items of a sales slip in printed characters on the slip, and where in the total of the printed items is presented at the close of the operation, in order that it may be entered on the slip.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the machine, with parts in section;

Fig. 2 is a section on the lme 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows adjacent the line;

Figs. 3 and 4 are sections on the-lines 3-3 and "4l-l, respectively, of Fig. 2, each view looking in thedireotion of the arrows adjacent the line;

Fig. 5 is a partial top plan view;

Fig. 6 is a plan View oi the completed sales slip;

Fig. 7 is a section through the register number wheels;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8--8 of Fig. 7, looking in the direction of the arrows adjacent the line.

The present embodiment of the invention is adapted for cooperation with sales slips indicated at 1 in Fig. 6, and the machine comprises a suitable supporting plate 2 which is adapted to rest upon the pad of slips, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. At the right of the plate a series of number wheels 3 is mounted, the said wheels being four in numb-er in the present instance, and the wheels are mounted upon shafts 1, which are journaled' in the arms 5 of yoke shaped springs, the bodies 6 of the springs being secured to the plate in the manner shown in Figs. 2 and 3. These spring plates 5-43 normally hold the wheels spacer above the surface of the pads, the plate 2 being cut away beneath the wheels, as shown in Fig. 2, in order that when the wheels are depressed in a manner to be presently described, the numerals. on the peripheries of the wheels will be brought into contact with the pads.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

Serial No. 161,543.

An inked ribbon 7 is arranged beneath the number wheels, the said ribbon being mounted at its ends on reels 8, and the reels are journaled upon spindles 9 connected with the plate. The ribbon passes beneath guide pins 10 extending outwardly from' the plate, and each number wheel has secured thereto a gear wheel 11, which is adapteo to be engaged by operating mechanism to be later described. A cover 12 is arranged above the number wheels, and the cover is cutv away at the end adj acent the number wheels. It will be noted, upon inspection of Fig. -l, that each number wheel has raised characters on its periphery, and the said characters are printing characters which will print upon the slips 1 when the individual number wheels are depressed to bring the numerals into contact with the inked ribbon. The number wheels are rotated by means of teeth on one of the side walls of substantially U- shaped members 15. These members 15 fit over the number wheels, as shown in Figs. 2 and l, the rack teeth engaging the pinions in such manner that the wheels will be turned when the U-shaped members are moved longitudinally, and the number wheels will be depressed when the U-shaped members are depressed. The U-shaped members are held in normal position, and returned to normal position when released, by means of coiled sprin s 16 which are arranged be tween the U-shaped members and a cross pin 17 connecting with the cover 12.

i The teeth are engaged by angular lugs 18 on spring arms 19 which are secured to the plate, said arms pressing the angular portion 18 a ainst the teeth. Each of the U-shaped memdiers is provided in its upper portion or body with a series of notches or openings 20,

and adjacent each opening is a numeral, as

shown in Fig. 1. These openings 20 are adapted to be engaged by the finger nail, or pencil point, to more the U-sha'ped members or plungers in a direction to operate the printing number wheels. The angular portions 18 are, in effect, pawls, for preventing overthrow of the number wheels and to indi cate to the operator how many notches or teeth have been passed over.

A second series of number wheels 21 is ar ranged at the opposite side of the plate from the number wheels 3, each number wheel bearing numerals on its peripheral surface, the said numerals running from 0 to 9. These number wheels are arranged upon a shaft 22, which is journaled in the cover 12, and is provided at its outer end with a knob or handle 23 for convenience in rotating the shaft. I The shaft, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, has a longitudinally extending groove 24, and each number wheel has a spring-pressed ball 25, which is adapted to engage in the groove to lock the number wheel to the shaft. These balls are arranged in radial recesses 26 in the wheels, the spring 27 being between the balls and the bottom of the recess. The groove is so cut that while the wheels may rotate freely in one direction with respect to' the shaft they cannot rotate in the opposite d" action, the ball acting as a clutch.

ilach of the U-shaped members 15 is pro-. vided at the end adjacent I the number wheels 21 with a longitudinally extending rack bar 28, and each of these rack bars engages the teeth of a pinion 29 rigid with the adjacent number wheel. Thus it will be obvious that whenever one of the number wheels 3 is moved by the U-shaped member cooperating therewith the corresponding number wheel 21 at the opposite side of the plate will be also moved.

Each pinion 29 engages a gear wheel 30 which is journaled on a shaft 31 below the shaft 22 and each number wheel on the opposite side from the pinion 29 is provided with a single tooth 31, which is adapted to engage the adjacent gear wheel once during each complete rotation of the number wheel, to cause the tooth to operate the gear wheel to move the succeeding number wheel a distance of one tooth. Thus the units wheel of the series 21 has a tooth 31 and pinion 29. Thetens wheel has both pinion and tooth, as does also the hundredths wheel. The thonsandths wheel however, has only the pinion and no tooth. When the units wheel of the series 21 has been moved a complete rotatiomthe tooth 31 of the said wheel will engage the gear wheel 30 engaging the pinion 29 of the tens wheel, and will cause the said gear wheel 30 to move the tens wheel a distance of one tooth or one numeral. The cover 12 is provided with an opening 32 at each number wheel of the series 21, and these openings, being in alinement, will give the total, the numerals forming the total appearing at the openings.

In operation, the device being in place on the pad of sales slips in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2, an entry is written in in pencil, as, for instance, 1 bu. potatoes. With the pencil or the finger nail the hooklreeper er salesman now sets the number wheels of the series 3 to print the cost of the bushel of potatoes, as, for instance, $2.56.. units wheel eedy stands at 6', no me "onlation of the units l necessary e pt t depress the i l e operator new finger nail the notch of the hundredths wheel operating member 15 and draws the operating member toward himself, until the pencil or finger nail engages the cut away edge of the cover. He then depresses the type wheel to cause the same to print. He next places the pencil in the notch in the tens wheel indicated by the numeral 3 and draws the said member toward himself until the pencil engages the sto formed by the edge of the cover, after which he depresses the wheel to cause the same to print. The number wheels of series 3 and 21 both register now $2.50, and this amount is printed on the sales slip in alinement with the notation 1 bu. potatoes, by the number wheels of series 3, and the numerals $2.50 appear at the openings 32. Each succeeding entry is printed in the same manner, and when the slip has been completed, as shown in Fig. 6, the total of the entered items will appear at the openings This total is written in below the cost of the various items, and the sales sli 3 is complete.

n order to reset the number wheels of series 21, the knob or head 23 is used. The teeth of the element 28 are ratchet teeth, so that when the operating member 15 is moving in a direction to operate the number wheels 3 the number Wheels 21 will also be operated, but when the member is moving under the influence of the sprin 16 the teeth will slip idly over the teet of the pinion. The springs 19 lift the members 15 during the return movement under the influence of the spring 16, so that they do not affect the number wheels.

f claim:

1. A device of the character specified, comprising a plate, a series of coaxial number wheels, a mounting for each wheel connected with the plate, said'wheels being supported beyond the edge of the plate, each mounting being resilient and normally pressing the wheel upward above the level of the plate, each wheel having a pinion rigid therewith, an operating member for each wheel, each member being substantially U-shaped and having one side wall provided with. rack teeth for engaging the pinion, a spring normally holding the teeth of each operating member out of engagement with the teeth of the pinion, a spring for returning each operating member.

2. .A. device of the character specified for use with sales slips and to be moved thereover, com'gn'ising a plate one edge of the plrt heir adapted to form a guide for the ice on the slip, a series of the said edge and extend ge print in line with area, an independent resilient eaci printing wheel and northe wheel in elevated posiep rating means for each printbeyond the edge to print in line with the item entered, and operating means for each printing Wheel and for depressingthe printing Wheel and mounted to reciprocate, and 5 spring controlled to normal position, and

independent of the operating means for the other Wheels.

, DE VERN CLAYTON HUFFMANc Witnesses:

PAULINE TEAsLY,

WILLIAM HILL. 

